Echoes of a Lost Spirit
by AztekLord
Summary: This is my shot at how cannon should have been. It's similar to cannon in the timeline, but the events differ a lot. This isn't a super Naruto fic but he will be very strong. There are no set pairings yet, they will develop along with the story./NOT YAOI/
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to all my readers, this is a new project I just started; I hope that it is enjoyable to all of you. My other story, Tree City Chronicles has ****NOT**** been discontinued, I am just lacking inspiration, although it would be a great help if you left some reviews prompting me to resume working on it as possible, because as all of you should know, in fanfiction, reviews are an author's life. **

**Feel free to leave any sort of feedback, comments, suggestions, requests; I will even take flames if you give me a valid argument. **

Disclaimer: As all of you probably know, I don't own Naruto, it belongs To Mamashi Kishimoto. I hate putting this stuff, but it's always better to avoid trouble if possible.

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

**Echoes of a Lost Spirit**

The sun was setting over the village; all the houses and buildings became dim with the arrival of night. Atop the monuments of the Hokage Mountain stood a boy, watching how the whole town began to succumb to darkness. He observed how many people were on their way home after a hard day of labor. After the sun was gone, and the stars illuminated the endless sky, he stood up from his place. An orange jumpsuit covered his body, he really did not mind the color too much, well, he could not complain, even if things could be better, there was something certain, they could always get worse. A pair of shinobi blue sandals guarded his feet, light and comfortable, the perfect footwear for anybody who aspired to become a full-fleshed ninja. His head was covered with a spiky bunch of blonde hair, he really never did anything to it, but it always stayed the same. On his forehead was a pair of goggles, they were a nice piece of headgear, but what this boy truly desired was to be able to stop using it, and in its place, to have a shinobi headband, the symbol that showed proof of how someone was truly a part of the village, a part of the military force that protected the land and its people.

This young man aspired to become one of those soldiers, he dreamed of becoming a man that everyone would turn to look at with a smile when he walked on a street, because at the moment he had nothing akin to it. When he passed through the streets of the village, most of the people did not even look at him, like he did not even exist; they acted as if he was not even there. The ones that did bother to look at him either gave him icy stares or angry glares. Why was he treated like that? What did he ever do to receive such treatment? And more importantly, what could he do to change it? Such were the questions that tormented his mind. He already attended the ninja academy, and although he always tried his best, for some reason, he could not obtain the same results as his peers. Ok, maybe he did not stick around as much as he should have in the lectures, because he did not believe that it held that much importance, after all, how could so much theory fit in a ninja's life? Although he knew very well, that a man has to be aware of his past in order to live the present, and to have a chance at a good future. Either way, after failing for the third time, he knew that he had the necessary knowledge in theory, perhaps not the best, but adequate knowledge, he was sure he possessed the needed quantity in order to pass, that was not it, it was the stupid bunshin-jutsu, he just could not do it, he tried to gather his chakra, but it was really hard for him, even though it was relatively easy for his classmate.

"Tomorrow is the day of the exam", he thought.

And yet he felt that the result would be the same. He had already grown tired of failure, why must someone who works harder than anyone else obtain worst results? It just was not fair. Perhaps he was not the problem, it was not his fault, maybe the environment was not suited for him, perhaps he could flourish somewhere else, and then he could come back and aid his village, yeah, since he was not an official ninja of the village, they could not keep him from leaving, but he knew better, everything concerning him was treated differently, somehow it seemed that no matter how cold everyone was to him, they did not push it over the edge. They wanted him here, he, for some reason unknown to him, was a needed part of the village, but probably a part that was not essential, since they did nothing to encourage him to stay. He would have to make an escape plan, leave before anyone notices you are gone, and then it would be too late to put halt to him. He should leave before the exam, but that would seem too suspicious, after all, if anyone wanted to pass it, it was him; he was going to take the exam, and then depending on the result he would think it further, the outcome will be decided tomorrow, the future of the one know as Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

The examination room was a very spartan looking; only a table covered with headbands stood in the middle, behind it sat Iruka-Sensei and Mizuki Sensei, ready to witness his performance and to decide whether or not he was ready to become a genin.

Naruto went ahead and performed his kawarimi and henge jutsus successfully, now came the moment of truth, to perform the bunshin jutsu. He made the hand sign, gathered his chakra, yelled out the name of the jutsu, and hoped for the best, but the result was heart-shattering. Only one clone came out, and to make it worse, it was pale and sickly looking, he already knew the outcome.

Iruka saw the clone that Naruto had made, it saddened him to see the horrible result, with such an incompetent skill in the technique, there was no way that he could graduate. "Naruto, you have failed, all your classmates created at least three healthy looking clones, you do not meet the standards."

The devastating look in Naruto's eyes was an awful thing to see but it could not be helped, just then, Mizuki-Sensei spoke.

"Iruka, why not give the boy a chance, after all he did manage to make a clone, and this is his third attempt." Said Mizuki-Sensei with a compassionate look toward Naruto.

"I'm sorry Mizuki, but with just that he would not last even a week in the shinobi world, I do not wish to see him get killed because of a lack of skill." Was the serious reply of Iruka.

"Thanks Mizuki-Sensei, I appreciate your thoughts." And with that, Naruto exited the room.

He just sat in the swing, alone, dejected, wishing he could have someone to celebrate with, or at least with someone who would comfort him. Just then he heard Mizuki-Sensei's voice behind him.

"Hey Naruto, do not think badly of Iruka, he just wants what's best for you, he knows that if you go out there without the proper skills, you will be killed, and he does not want to see that. He is an orphan just like you, he knows what it is like to grow up without parents, if someone can sympathize with you that would be him."

"I know that, it's just that this time I really wanted to pass, I had worked so hard." _"Oh well, I think that plan B comes into action now."_ Thought Naruto.

"Well, you know something Naruto, there is another way of becoming a genin, but Iruka did not tell you about it because it was quite risky, would you like to try it?" Said the Chuunin.

"Of course!" Was the blonde's reply.

* * *

The breeze of the night rustled his hair as he leaped from branch to branch, the moon and the stars gave him a little light as he travelled full speed through the forest. Naruto headed directly to the spot he had been told, his face radiant with happiness. The moment Mizuki-Sensei had told him of the second examination process, he had been so happy that his feelings betrayed him.

"_Perhaps I do not need to leave, I just had to wait until my chance came around, yes! My time to shine is finally here!"_

Arriving at the designated place he decided to get right to work, after all, once he took the sacred scroll, all he had to do was learn one jutsu from there that was all he needed to become a genin. Opening the scroll the first jutsu that popped up was the Kage-Bunshin jutsu, Naruto grimaced looking at it, the first jutsu was obviously the easiest, and it was related to his worst jutsu, although the description did say that it was very different in comparison of chakra consumption, but he did not think it was a problem, because after all, he trained much more than all the other kids he was pretty sure that he had enough chakra to attempt it. Well, he could always write it down and then come back to it, getting out a scroll he opened it and wrote down the instructions for the jutsu, and he kept scanning the scroll for other jutsus that called his attention. Having written down all the techniques that caught his interest he decided to start working on the Kage-Bunshin, after all, if he mastered that one, he could move on to another one, and if mastering one was the requirement, if he managed to master two, it would get him higher marks.

* * *

The village was in a total uproar, at least the ninja ranks, the civilians did not even know what was going on. Many ninjas were rushing around the rooftops, in their way to the Hokage Tower.

"Hokage-Sama, we have to find Naruto as soon as possible!" Yelled one of the ninjas.

"The scroll contains important secrets from our village, it has things written by the previous Hokages, the results could be disastrous if they were to fall unto wrong hands." Commented another shinobi.

The Hokage contemplated all his options, he absolutely had to recover the missing scroll, it was way too important to leave it alone, but he did not wish for any harm to befall Naruto, after all he was only a confused child with a lot of regret over not being able to pass his genin exam, after all, if he had the skill to steal the scroll, maybe he was not that far off his goal, but he had to resolve this matter first, the other shinobi would not be as understanding if time kept passing and Naruto was still missing.

"Go and find Naruto immediately, bring him to me the moment you find him, and try to remember that he is just a boy, regardless of who he is, he is probably just confused." The Hokage saw all the shinobi in front of him disappear in search of Naruto, he just needed to head to his office and try to locate him with his crystal ball.

Meanwhile Iruka was resting in his apartment when a sudden knock in the door put him on alert, opening the door he saw Mizuki standing there with an agitated look in his face. He could tell that something was going on in the village as he saw many shinobi running through the rooftops.

"Iruka, you have to come quickly! Naruto has taken the Scroll of Sealing as a joke, the whole village is looking for him!" Said the agitated gray-haired Chuunin.

"He did what?" Yelled Iruka, "I will go find him this instant!" And so getting dressed and heading out Iruka thought, _"What the hell were you thinking Naruto? This is a very serious matter, you won't get off the hook so easily. I better head for the woods, he is most likely to be there."_

_

* * *

_

Naruto sat panting in the ground, it had been a lot of work, but he had finally mastered the first jutsu in the scroll, he had thought that it was going to be a lot harder, but it had been really simple, there was only one hand sign, and all it seemed to require was a good amount of chakra, and apparently he did have enough chakra, because he was able to pull it off. Just then the person he was expecting to see appeared in front of him, and so he received him with a smile.

"Iruka-Sensei, you caught me, and it was really fast as usual, I only had time to learn the first jutsu in the scroll. This means that I passed right?" Said Naruto happily.

Iruka gave Naruto a puzzled look, he thought it was a test? And looking around he noticed that he was telling the truth, the grounds around him were all battered, it was obvious that someone had been practicing really hard. "Naruto what do you mean, who told you about this test, who told you to steal the scroll from the Hokage Tower?" Questioned Iruka with a serious tone.

"Well, Mizuki-Sensei of course, he said that you did not want to tell me about this way of taking the exam because you thought it was dangerous, but I did it." Was Naruto's cheerful reply.

And then Iruka understood everything, it all made sense now, Mizuki was the culprit behind all this mess, he had been the one who told Naruto where the scroll was, he told him to steal so that the blame would fall on Naruto, Mizuki was a traitor, and he had tricked Naruto into doing his dirty work, he was about to tell Naruto what was going on when he heard a hail of kunai and shuriken heading toward Naruto, and he knew what he had to do. "Naruto, get out of the way!" Iruka yelled desperately, but since he was too overjoyed there was no way that he was going to react on time, so he jumped right in front of him and pushed him away from the danger, kunai and shuriken impacting the flesh.

Naruto was at a loss of words, he had been happily talking with Iruka-Sensei, and the next minute he had been shoved out of the way, and now there was Iruka-Sensei sitting against the little shack that was in the clearing, bleeding from several wounds in his body.

Iruka was looking toward the direction the projectiles had come from, and there he stood, Mizuki with two fuma shuriken in his back. A maniacal smile adorning his face, the look of satisfaction in his face was truly perturbing.

"So it was you all along, you pretended to help him, but you were only tricking him into doing your dirty work, why did you do this Mizuki? You traitor!" Yelled Iruka with a sorrowful tone.

"Ahahaha, that's right Iruka, I was the one who told Naruto where the scroll was, and at what time he had to head there in order to take it, because I have decided to leave the village, but not before getting rid of the demon." Replied Mizuki with a smug tone.

Naruto was beyond confused by now; Mizuki-Sensei was a traitor? Taking the scroll seemed to have been something serious, but why had Mizuki-Sensei called him a demon? Mizuki-Sensei, what to do you mean, why did you call me a demon?" Asked a perplexed Naruto.

Mizuki turned his attention to Naruto and told him, "Naruto, do you know why everyone in the village treats you the way they do, why they see you as the dirt of their shoes, when apparently you have done nothing to deserve it?" Inquired Mizuki.

"NO! You cannot tell him Mizuki, it is against the law! Screamed Iruka in anguish.

"Naruto, you **are **the nine-tailed fox that attacked the village twelve years ago, you are responsible for the deaths of countless shinobi and civilians, that's why everyone hates you, because you killed their families, even Iruka hates you, he is an orphan because of you." Was Mizuki's cruel statement, and seen Naruto frozen from the shock, he started spinning the fuma shuriken, and threw at full speed toward the unsuspecting Naruto, but right before hitting him Iruka got in front of Naruto once again, getting the shuriken incrusted in his back.

Iruka looked at Naruto with tears in his eyes, "Naruto, I know you must have been lonely, you had to be hurting all this time, if only I had done a better job, perhaps this would have never happened."

Naruto took off running with all his might, Iruka's cries for him did not reach him; he was shocked to say the least, so that was the reason he was treated that way, the resentment of the villagers was because he was a demon, a demon who had killed their family, all the hate, all the indifference, he finally understood the reasons behind them. They had kept it a secret from him for twelve long years, nobody ever had the decency to even tell him what was going on, he had heard that it was against the law to tell him, but even the Hokage had not mentioned anything, the higher authority in the village, one of the only people who he considered his friends, had not told him anything. Perhaps it had been for his own good, but it did not change the fact that he felt hurt and betrayed.

* * *

As Naruto leapt from branch to branch at top-speed, Iruka caught up to him from the side. "Naruto, give the scroll, before Mizuki catches up to us, it will be safer for you if you give me the scroll." But the response he got was a knee to the gut, and just as they collapsed to the floor the truth was revealed.

"Naruto, how did you know I was not the real Iruka?" The henge disappeared, and in place of Iruka was Mizuki, holding his stomach.

"Because I am the real Iruka." And with that Naruto puffed with smoke and in his place stood Iruka.

The real Naruto stood hidden behind a tree, not knowing what to believe anymore, he decided to stay where he was, and to just wait to see what happened next.

"Why do you protect him Iruka? Can't you see what he really is? He is the reason why your parents are dead. He is just like me, he probably ran off with the scroll to use it for his own purposes, because that is what demons are like."

"Yeah, you are right, that's what demons are like" Replied Iruka.

Naruto felt that his heart split in two, so even Iruka-Sensei thought that way, deep down even him does not acknowledge me, even his mentor, the person he looked up as a child would look up to his father, if even he thought like that, perhaps he should leave the village, disappear from their sight, never to be seen again. Just then he heard the rest of Iruka's reply.

"You're right, that's how demons are, that's what the demon fox would do… But Naruto is different. I acknowledge him, he is one of my excellent students, he may not be the hardest worker, and he isn't liked by others, and he knows what it is like to feel pain inside your heart. He is a proud citizen of Konoha, a kind hearted young man like who is nothing like you, he is Uzumaki Naruto. I am very proud of him, and I trust him, he would never do anything like that, I know it." Iruka finished speaking, but he was breathing hard already, he had taken a lot of damage.

"Well, whatever, I will kill you first, and then I will get rid of the demon fox." Mizuki then started spinning the remaining fuma shuriken in his hands, ready to end Iruka's life. Just when he was about to throw it he received a brutal knee to his chin, and he was sent flying.

There stood Uzumaki Naruto, holding the scroll behind his back, "Don't you dare touch Iruka-Sensei, or I WILL KILL YOU!"

"Naruto! You fool, run away!" Yelled a desperate Iruka.

"Hahahaha, I will kill you with one shot!" Screamed Mizuki.

"Try it trash, I will return the pain a thousand times over!" Replied Naruto.

"Do it then! Show me demon fox!"

Naruto readied his hands into a cross-shaped hand-sign, and yelled out, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Instantly, thousands of Naruto's popped into existence, surrounding Mizuki from all directions. The reaction of Mizuki showed shock, and perhaps even fear.

"What happened? Weren't you going to finish me in one shot? Well, then, if you do not want to start, I will." Naruto then proceeded to pummel Mizuki from all directions until he was lying in the floor unconscious.

"_Naruto you have done it, each of those clones was a real body, not an illusion, perhaps you can do it, surpass all the previous Hokages and become the greatest ninja this village has ever known."_ Iruka was really proud of his pupil.

"Hehehe, maybe I went a little too far." Said Naruto sheepishly.

"Naruto come over here, I want to give you something." Said a happy Iruka.

"What is it Iruka-Sensei, can I open my eyes now?"

"Yes Naruto, you can open your eyes Naruto."

Naruto looked at the face of his mentor and noticed his bare forehead, "Congratulations Naruto, you passed, you are hereby an official ninja of Konoha, how about I treat you to some ramen to celebrate?" Naruto happily jumped to hug his sensei, momentarily forgetting in bliss that he was hurt. _"I was going to give you a lecture about the hard life of a ninja, but I guess that can wait for the ramen."_

_

* * *

_

The next day a photographer stood confused in front of a young ninja about to take his registration photo. He was not too sure about what the blond kid was trying to do, but hell, it was not his job to tell the kids how to take the pictures, oh well, he might as well ask this one.

"Hey kid, are you sure you want to take your picture like that?"

"Yeah mister, take it like that."

"Oh well, as you wish." And with that the camera flashed and the picture was taken.

The Hokage sat in front of Naruto examining his registration form, to say it was strange could not begin to describe him; this had to be the strangest form anyone had ever turned in. Naruto was striking a strange pose with his face covered in kabuki makeup. "Take it again." Was the Hokage's flat statement. Naruto was perplexed beyond anything.

"No way! It took me three hours to find a good pose, and putting on all that makeup was not easy you know!" Naruto retorted.

The Hokage was very amused by the photo, but he could not tell Naruto that, after all this was a serious procedure, "Naruto, this form will contain all your information, it will serve as your record for the village. It has to be accurate, in this picture we cannot even tell who you are, so please retake it."

The Hokage was still talking when the door burst open and a kid came charging into the room. He was wearing a scarf around his neck, had a helmet on his head, and was carrying a shuriken at hand.

"Fight me old man!" Said the charging infant as he attempted to attack, sadly, he tripped over his own scarf and ended up face first against the floor.

"_Not again, this is the 10__th__ attack this week."_ Thought the Hokage sadly.

Right behind the kid came a man dressed in all black wearing a black bandana and sunglasses, "honorable grandson!" And then noticing Naruto in the room he gave him a displeased look, _"It's that Naruto kid, the child with the demon fox in him."_

Naruto returned the look back at him, "_he's looking at me just like the others, but I will show him too."_ He was about to retort verbally when the kid noticed him and suddenly yelled at him.

"It was you! You were the one who tripped me."

Naruto angrily got up and grabbed the kid by the collar, "I never tripped you, you little twerp, you tripped over your own scarf!"

The man got agitated immediately, "Let go of that child, he is the honorable grandson of the Hokage!"

The kid turned to look at him with a smug look, _"That's right, when he hears that I'm the Hokage's Grandson, he will get scared just like the others." _

Surprisingly enough, Naruto did just the opposite, he got even angrier, "Like I care! He could be your grandma for all I care!" And finishing his statement he proceeded to smack the kid in the head.

And with that Naruto exited the premises.

* * *

The alarm clock rung throughout the room, since his room was not that big to begin with, the sound echoed through the little apartment. Getting up and heading for the restroom, he noticed that the day seemed cloudier than usual; perhaps it was a harbinger of the things to come later on, only time could tell. Brushing his teeth and washing his face he headed to the kitchen. The only thing in his kitchen was a couple of cups of instant ramen, he did not have that much money to use for his expenses, and so he worked with whatever he had available. Finishing his cup of noodles, he headed for the shower, and after a quick shower, he got dressed, and headed for the academy.

The village was the same as usual, this time he decided to travel through the roofs, it was faster, and he avoided all the unnecessary troubles of walking in the streets. Upon arriving at the premises of the school he noticed how many students had actually attended the academy, there had been numerous kids, but only a few made it through the exam, he knew it for certain, he had been in the short end of the stick for quite a long time. Entering the school he saw many of the classmates he had spent a year working with, many kids had passed, the Haruno girl was a brainiac who memorized everything by heart, the Uchiha survivor had superior genetics, being the last of a renowned shinobi clan, the Inuzuka, the Nara, the Akimichi, the Yamanaka, the Hyuga girl, they all came from ninja clans, so it was no surprise that they passed as well. Perhaps faith did not seem him worthy enough to become a shinobi, maybe that was the reason it had been so hard for him, but the matter meant little to nothing for him; he would prove that even those hated by the gods could accomplish anything that they set their minds into, he would show everyone that even he could become an accomplished ninja, he just needed someone who could aid him on his quest, someone able to understand his ideals. Naruto headed for the classroom heavy in thought, so immersed in his own thoughts that he barely noticed his surroundings.

"Well, it is show time, let's get this over with" And with that he entered the classroom.

* * *

The classroom was swarming with students; he tried to make his way to his sit without calling too much attention to himself, which, in itself was weird, since he was always catching everyone's attention with his pranks and jokes, although later he was the one who paid the consequences. The whole classroom went about their business, nobody really noticing Naruto on his way to his seat, the only one who paid him a glimpse was Shikamaru Nara, and the boy was the only one who wondered about the blonde's strange behavior.

Sitting down Naruto noticed something; he was sitting next to Uchiha Sasuke, which he really did not mind, except for the fact that he was really popular, and that meant that his space would most likely be invaded by one of his many fans. And he was right, not five seconds after he sat down did the door burst open and in came Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, apparently discussing who was going to sit next to Sasuke.

"_Fuck, just what I needed"_ Naruto thought grimly.

Naruto saw them approaching his seat and knew exactly what was coming next. He could hear the girl's gibberish.

"Get out of the way Ino-pig!" Yelled the pink haired girl.

"You move aside billboard forehead!" retorted back the blond.

Naruto knew precisely what was about to happen, he was right, the moment they noticed he was sitting in the spot they were fervently fighting over, both girls focused on him.

"Get out of the seat Naruto! Can't you see I want to sit next to Sasuke?" Yelled both females in unison.

Naruto sighed exasperated, "Why must I move? Can you not see that there is another seat right next to him?"

Noticing the empty seat both girls rushed over to the other side. Meanwhile Sasuke gave Naruto a "Thanks, dough bag" look.

Naruto really could not care less, besides it was his fault for being popular, hell, he did not even know why he disliked it so much… hell, he would appreciate some of the attention that he rejects.

As Sakura won the contest over the precious sitting spot and sat down next to Sasuke, Iruka sensei entered the room.

Iruka cleared his throat and looking at his students he said, "OK guys, first of all allow me to congratulate you all for passing, this is the beginning of a long road, so I hope you guys are ready to work very hard. I will tell you the names of your teams, and the people you will be working with for a most of your career as a shinobi." Iruka then proceeded to read names.

"_Oh shit, life-time teammates, I hope I don't get shitty ones, that would really suck."_ Thought Naruto.

Iruka read the names out loud, and many teams had already been decided. The Hyuga girl, the Inuzuka and the Aburame were grouped together, that was a very good deal he thought, all of them belonged to powerful clans. Then he saw that Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji were on the same team, that sure was something, it seemed all their fathers had been on the same team when they were genin, that's what you call innate chemistry.

Suddenly Naruto snapped back to reality from his thoughts, he had heard his name. He waited anxiously, to see who his teammates were, when realization hit him, there were only two people left besides him.

" Hingeku Sai, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke, you will form team 7 and your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."

Naruto stood there in shock, then his mind started racing_, "What the fuck? What about me? I passed the exam as well!" _

Iruka turned to Naruto before he said anything, "Naruto, since we hadn't contemplated the fact of you passing, some special arrangements had to be made in order to get you a team. We're heading to the Hokage Tower to see what these arrangements will be."

Naruto's mind was racing, many thoughts assaulted his head, he tried to remain calm but it was tough. With his head cooled down a bit, he started to wonder_, "Who is this Sai guy? I've never seen him before…. This seems fishy."_ The doubt started to bother him, so he decided to ask his sensei, "Oi, Iruka Sensei, do you know who this guy Sai you mentioned is?"

"I really don't know, I wondered about that as well, since I had never heard of him, I actually thought that you were going to be put in team 7", replied his sensei.

Upon arriving at the Hokage Tower Naruto started to get real nervous, this was really unusual, and with him, unusual usually meant trouble. They headed upstairs to where the Hokage awaited them sitting on his usual self. Naruto looked at the Hokage steeling himself, whatever was coming was going to be important, and he had to be ready for it.

The Hokage looked at Naruto and started to talk, "Naruto, first of all, I wish to congratulate you on your passing of the exam, I also want to compliment the fact that you were able to take the scroll, the fact that you actually did it is the reason as to why you did not get into trouble. Unfortunately, preparations were not made in order to accommodate you, so something special will have to be done. I have several prospects that could teach you, but I have to make sure that you can step up to the challenge, so we are going to do the following in order to make sure…"

Naruto was so happy that he was about to explode, they were willing to give him a chance, a chance to prove he was a worthy, he was so happy that he interrupted the Hokage. "Really! Oh man, this is awesome so who is it? Who's going to train me? Is he powerful? Or maybe it's a woman? What is it? Huh? Huh?"

The Hokage signaled Naruto to be quiet and continued talking. "As I was saying, in order to see the level you posses at the moment, you will do a test tomorrow, I have arranged that you take part in the test Hatake Kakashi will put to his students, I don't know if you're aware of this, but in order to fully become a genin, you have to pass the test your jounin sensei gives you. Meet him and his team in training field 7, the test will be at 6:00 o'clock, so make sure to be there on time." With this Naruto and Iruka were dismissed.

Naruto and Iruka came out of the Hokage building and as they were going to part Iruka looked at Naruto and said, "Naruto, do your best in tomorrow's test, I know you will do a great job, you are a great shinobi, the only thing left is to prove to the world. Also, Hatake Kakashi has a really bad habit of being extremely late, so he probably won't show up until 8 or 9, do not get exasperated, and wait for him with a cool head." With that Iruka started to leave but not before tossing Naruto a little bag, "I know it isn't much, but it should be enough".

Naruto waved good bye to his dear sensei, being truly thankful for his patience and understanding all the time he had been under his guidance. Naruto opened the little bag and saw the contents inside. There was some money and a little note. 'Naruto, it might not be much, but it should suffice, please get a change of clothes.' Naruto laughed, but maybe he was right it was time for a little change. His future was going to be decided the next day, perhaps it was a good idea to start off with the right foot.

"All right! It's time to go do a little shopping, and then I shall go check out training the training field for the test tomorrow." And with that Naruto walked off smirking to himself.

* * *

**OK guys, that's it for the first chapter. As always, please review, favorite, like (Hahaha, this isn't facebook), but you know what I mean, I read every single review I get. If you have any suggestions, comments, etc. feel free to leave a review or send me a PM. Thanks for reading and I'll try to upload the next chapter soon.**

**Aztek Lord**


	2. Chapter 2

**All right, here's chapter two, let's see if by adding chapters the reviews will come. :S**

**-REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW-**

**(I hope that was subliminal enough :D) **

**Again, feel free to leave any sort of feedback, comments, suggestions, requests; I will even take flames if you give me a valid argument. **

**Disclaimer: As all of you probably know, I don't own Naruto, it belongs To Mamashi Kishimoto. I sure wish it belonged to me though; I would enjoy all the money the series is producing. :P**

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"_Writing"_

"**Talking"**

****

The streets of Konoha were busy with many people walking in the street, shops going on their business, ninjas and civilians alike hurrying, trying to get their duties done as soon as possible and retire for the day. Although walking amongst all these people was Naruto, even though it was already sunset, his endeavors were just about to begin. He had been thinking about a lot of things, many questions assaulted his mind, but there was one thing that really troubled his young mind. He was truly afraid of failing the examination; after all, his whole future depended on the result of it. Well, there was no time to fret over the small things, he had many things to do, and not much time, he needed to get his new outfit, to inspect the training grounds where his test was going to take place, and hopefully, try to learn another jutsu from the scroll. And so, he set off to the stores in order to get some new gear.

Naruto walked through the stores, he had been given some money to buy himself some clothes, and he knew it would be rude to not get them. He stopped at a store that seemed to have decent enough clothes, and so he entered to look at the stuff. When he entered the store the owner gave him a funny look, well, that happened a lot, but this one seemed different, he didn't look angry because he entered the shop, actually he seemed sort of surprised.

The owner of the store was a man about fifty years old, at least from what his gray hair gave away, he seemed like an ex-shinobi since he appeared to have a powerful built. "Hello there young man, you know, this is a store where jounin buy their gear, I don't really think you will find anything suited to your needs, but feel free to look around." Said the man pleasantly.

Naruto seemed a bit taken aback after hearing such words, "thanks, no wonder the stuff around here called to my attention, I'll look around, who knows what I could find, maybe there is something that could interest me, and that I can afford." Replied the blond shinobi happily.

The blond genin looked around at the shop, he understood now, all the stuff in the store seemed to be top quality, even the basic stuff like the kunai and shuriken seemed to give off a different vibe, he just felt the ninja aura of the store. Naruto eyed the pants and seemed immersed, there were so many styles and colors, there were ones with many pockets, some of them had slots especially made to carry around the kunai and shuriken, and some even had slots for scrolls. The shirts had many colors, and the designs went from plain to truly extravagant. While he gazed at the clothes his attention drifted to the weaponry, behind a crystal shelve, there were many katanas, spears, kodachis, knives, needles and everything a ninja could dream of, this was without a doubt the best ninja store he had ever visited. The only thing had depressed Naruto was seeing the price tags in all the stuff. There was no way that anybody below jounin status could afford the stuff in the store, well, unless you were loaded, and he certainly wasn't.

The prices seemed exorbitant to him, he didn't want to leave store empty handed so he kept looking around for any sign of something he could afford. Suddenly, something caught Naruto's eye, it was an outfit put in a corner, what called his attention was that unlike all the other stuff which was separated and organized in different sections, this particular outfit was put together. He looked at it with a puzzled expression and decided to check it out. The outfit consisted of a pair of pants and a tight jacket. What was really intriguing, upon closer inspection, was the array of intricate seals inside of the clothes. If you were to give it a simple glance, it would just look like a shinobi aspect like any other out there. He gazed at it a little more, everything seemed normal about it, just a pair of black pants with a white stripe running along the sides of the legs, with the rudimentary kunai holsters and the extra pockets for shuriken and other things. The jacket also seemed normal, the white stripes running along the arms and in the zipper line. He decided this was a cool outfit, so he looked at the price tag, and was surprised to see the cost.

"_Dude! I can afford it! This is incredible, although… how come the price was lowered? Perhaps there was something wrong with it?"_ Thought Naruto Carefully. Before he could continue pondering about the issue the store owner rushed toward him with a worried expression.

"Hey there young man, I'm sorry, but I can't let you buy this outfit, it is far too dangerous for someone your age to wear it."

Naruto was really confused by now, but now the outfit seemed even more interesting, so he decided to inquiry why the outfit was dangerous, he wanted it more than ever. "Wait a minute! What do you mean the outfit is dangerous? Tell me why I can't buy it!" Said the blonde heatedly.

The store owner looked at Naruto calmly and told him the reason, "Listen young man, I'm sure you noticed the seals all over these clothes, you see, these seals are for the purpose of training, they are meant to make the clothes heavier, And although that seems like something very useful, the way to make them work is a little extravagant. You must feed the seal with chakra, but the seals in this particular outfit came faulty, you must give the chakra in advance, the problem is, that these seals absorb so much chakra, that the last jounin who tried it on, passed out the instant they put it on." The man looked at Naruto hoping that this much of an explanation was enough to make him understand that these clothes were not suited for anyone his age, sheesh, he didn't know why he still had them in display, perhaps he still hoped that a ninja powerful enough came to get them, but that was probably wishful thinking, most ninja didn't even have enough chakra to survive trying to put it on.

Naruto thought for a minute, and he decided something, if before he thought he wanted it, now he knew he had to have it. But the question was how. Suddenly the chance came.

A shinobi entered the store and stood at the reception. "Hello, Yumeru-san, where are you? I need to replace my kodachi." The man looked around and spotted the store owner, near a boy and decided to call out to him. "Yumeru-san, I need it fast, I have to leave for a mission in half an hour and I really need it!

Yumeru-san looked at man and started to go towards him, he turned to Naruto and said, "Wait here, I'll help find something else, just wait a bit." And with that he rushed toward the awaiting shinobi.

Naruto didn't even think twice about it, he knew it was now or never, with lighting speed he ditched his orange jumpsuit and started to put the black outfit on. The owner of the store finished attending the other shinobi and turned his attention back to Naruto.

The expression on the face of the store owner could only be described as pure terror, what he saw was the little blond kid putting on the outfit. _"Oh no! He put it on, this kid is going to die, I'm going to get hell for this, how am I going to explain this? And even worse, the outfit reshapes to the size of the owner by absorbing chakra, that outfit is for an adult male! He's going to die for sure! _The man rushed towards Naruto in a vain hope of stopping him, but it was futile, by the time he got to Naruto, he had finished closing the zipper.

The reaction was instantaneous; the moment Naruto finished closing the zipper, the clothes shrunk instantly to fit him, and suddenly he fell to the ground hard. The seals were glowing brightly; he felt how all the energy in his body left in an instant. And there he lay on the floor without moving a single muscle.

The store owner stood next to him, observing how it all happened in an instant, he saw how the seals started to glow in a bright blue tone. He truly believed this had been the end of this young boy when suddenly something really strange happened. The blue color of the seals changed to a vivid crimson color. The speed of the flow accelerated and suddenly everything stopped. The store owner stood mesmerized when the strangest thing so far happened. The boy in front of him started to stand up!

Naruto felt really strange, he tried to focus his sight but everything was very blurry. He remembered putting the clothes on and suddenly falling to the floor. He could recall the feeling of his very life leaving his body. He really thought it was the end when he heard a voice, or at least he thought it was voice, but the thing was, he was sure it hadn't been the store owner. He still recalled the whisper in his head.

**"Be grateful stupid brat, for I do not see fit for you to die… yet." **Naruto didn't really understood where the hell did the voice come from, but after hearing it he felt how life was returning to his body, although he felt kind of funny, he felt as if he was irritated, he felt the need to destroy something, but then the thoughts disappeared as soon as they came. Naruto stood up shakily to see the face of the owner. He was surprised to see the expression of the owner; it was a mix of surprise, joy, disbelief, and skepticism. "Hey there mister, Yumeru-san was your name right? See? I can wear the outfit; will you sell it to me now? The blond genin said sheepishly.

Yumeru was speechless, what he saw in front of him was truly a miracle, a young boy, of no more than thirteen was standing in front of him wearing this outfit. He tried to manage his thoughts, but it was really hard for him at the moment. This kid was supposed to be dead by all normal standards, but not only was he alive, he was conscious, what in hell was capable of achieving this, he was truly astonished by this.

"Hey boy, you are truly the first person to ever put it on and not pass out, this is truly amazing, I would have never imagined that someone your age would have enough chakra to be able to wear these clothes, in fact, there are very few shinobi with enough chakra to put it on and stay standing. You will be something to look forward to, I now see infinite potential in you, of course I will sell it to you, these clothes were meant for you, I'm sure." Yumeru said in a jovial tone.

Naruto was truly delighted, he was able to buy the clothes, and he even received a complement from the owner, this was a first for him. Naruto tried to gather his plethora of emotions into words, but he only managed to say weakly, "Thank you."

The man looked at him and spoke, "Well young man, will you be so kind as to tell me your name since you already know mine?"

Naruto felt a little awkward and replied speedily, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, a newly formed genin of the village; it is a pleasure to meet you Yumeru-san." Naruto found it hard to believe that he had managed to be so polite, but the man seemed pleased.

"It's nice meeting you too Uzumaki-san, well, since you're going to buy the outfit, let me tell you a little more about it, you see, adding weight to the clothes is not the only function of these seals, there are a few other thing they can do."

Naruto was fascinated upon hearing that, he knew there had been a reason as to why those clothes had called his attention. He wondered what other awesome things were his new clothes able to do.

Yumeru kept talking about the garments, "You see, there are several cool things to do with this outfit, the only problem is that they work with chakra, and well, most shinobi don't have enough to spare, although that doesn't seem to be the case with you. The first thing is that they adjust to the person wearing them, the bigger the size difference is between the clothes and owner, the more chakra it consumes, so it obviously absorbed a lot of chakra from you, since it was intended for an adult male, and you are small, for your age."

Naruto didn't seem too pleased at this last comment, but he decided to keep it to himself, after all, it wasn't his fault that he was short, stupid genes.

Yumeru was amused at the reaction of the blond, so he decided to add, "The good thing is that when you grow more, the clothes will grow with you, so there is no need to buy more for a while. Afterwards he added, the other cool feature is that the clothes regulate temperature, the fibers adjust, you can make them a bit looser when it's hot, and you can make them tighten to safeguard yourself from the cold. Additionally, they have a slight resistance to fire, that should turn out helpful when confronting a katon user."

Naruto was more than pleased, these clothes were awesome, and they only required lots of chakra, which apparently, he could spare. Naruto walked to the front of the store along Yumeru-san in order to pay for his new clothes. Being in the front desk the man looked under the shelf and took out a little scroll. "Naruto, here are the instructions for the little procedure you must do in order to completely bond with the clothes, you see, After you do it, all the commands can be done through your mind, but I warn you, after you do it, the clothes will react to you, and only you, so don't think of letting anyone borrow them after you do it, because it would turn out dangerous." Naruto nodded vigorously and so man continued, "The procedure is very simple, just drop a little bit of blood in the seal and follow the instructions accordingly." With that the man finished explaining.

Naruto was about the exit when Yumeru called out to him holding a little bag, "Hey Naruto-san, you forgot your old outfit." Naruto hurried back to get it, after all, it held many memories, so he wanted to keep it, even though they were mostly bad memories, the few good memories he had made it worth it. Thanking the man again Naruto set off.

"You are always welcome Naruto, when you start doing some missions come back, I'll make you a discount, and I'll give you a bit of advice." Yelled the store owner as he waved good-bye to Naruto. _"This kid will become something big, I hope to still be around to see it."_

****

Naruto headed to his house, he wanted to check out the instructions for his outfit and to eat something, he was really starving, he had to eat something, it seemed that his little mishap with the chakra absorption really took out his energy, and he needed to replenish it. As he made his way to his little abode, he saw that night had already come, it was around 8 o'clock already, "Man, time really does fly when you're having fun." Thought the blonde. As he reached his residence, the blonde made a mental note, to get a watch. Naruto unlocked the door to his apartment and headed straight to the kitchen.

Naruto's apartment was actually pretty clean considering that he lived alone, and that he was man. Perhaps it was his desire to make his life as bright as he could that drove him to keep it clean. Once in the kitchen, he took out a pot and started to boil water, he would usually just boil water for two or three cups of ramen, but seeing how hungry he was, he knew he was going to eat at least six or seven, so he decided to make them all together. He took out six cups of pork ramen and set them to the side for when the water boiled. This stuff couldn't compare to Ichiraku's ramen, but since he had spent all his dough in clothes, he had to tighten his belt until he started doing missions and began receiving some pay for his services. Naruto opened his bag to check out the scroll when he noticed something extra in his bag. There was a small box with a little note attached to it, he grabbed the note and proceeded to read it.

"Naruto, this is a little gift from me, since you start your life as a shinobi I'm sure this will help, this knife is from the same maker than the clothes, it has some seals in the handle, which makes it easier to channel chakra into it, when you find out your chakra affinity, come to the store, and I'll teach you how to use it."

-Yumeru

Naruto was truly at a loss for words, he really wasn't expecting something like this, this was the third person to ever give him a gift, the first being the Hokage and the second one, just recently, Iruka-sensei, who had gifted him with his ninja headband. The knife came in a shining, black, square case. Taking it out of the case he noticed it's length, it seemed to be made for assassination purposes, since the hilt was four inches long and the blade (which seemed extremely sharp by the way) was eight inches long. The hilt was almost black from all the inscribing it had, but he could notice the specks of the original white color. He wondered exactly where he was going to put it when he noticed the extra long pocket in the right leg of the pants, now it seemed obvious why it had such a slot, he fitted the case into the pocket and he noticed that the part covering the blade fit perfectly inside it, leaving only the hilt out. Naruto was really happy.

The young shinobi went to check on the water, and seeing that it was already boiling decided to pour the noodles into the water, after covering the pot, and lowering the fire, he went back to the table and pulled out the scroll with the instructions. The instructions seemed to be pretty straight-forward, which was surprising, he had thought they would be a maze. The scroll said that he should smear his name with blood, and that they will go on from there. Naruto bit his finger and seeing the blood flowing, decided to write his name. The process started immediately, the blood seemed to seep into the scroll and then the same sort of seals that he had seen in the clothes appeared in the scroll. The next set of instructions appeared afterwards, it said that he should pump chakra into the scroll until the seals glowed bright blue. _"Man, this equipment sure likes to eat chakra."_ Thought Naruto grimly. But since he decided that the benefits had been good so far, the chakra transferring process started. This time surprisingly, the seals glowed real fast, and the last set of instructions appeared. It said that he should put both of his hands on the scrolls to finish. Naruto proceeded to execute the given command, and then the real surprise came. The seals glowed even brighter, and then at a lightning speed, they attached to his hands and quickly spread to his arms and whole body for that matter. Naruto was really freaked out at this point. He looked at scroll again, trying to find some explanation for this occurrence. The scroll now showed its last sentences.

_Process completed successfully. Now proceed to try out the following mental commands. To increase or lower the weight of the suit, just think Weight to level X_. The weight can me increased up to ten times (Although note that each level is twice as heavy as the previous one). So for the first level the command will be "Increase Weight to level 1." The same process is to be made in order to decrease the weight; "Decrease weight to level X. _

Naruto was really glad that the way to make them work so this easy, so he decided to try it out. _"Increase weight to level 1."_ Naruto felt how the suit suddenly became real heavy, actually it was really heavy, Naruto struggled to stay standing. After adjusting to it for a bit, he decided to try walking with it. He walked all the way to the stove in order to turn off the fire and get his first serving of ramen (of many more to come). After going back to the table he decided to turn off the extra weight, _"Decrease weight to level 0."_ And thus, our yellow-haired genin went back to normal. He kept reading to find out about the temperature regulations of the outfit. As if reading his thoughts, the scroll began to change.

_In order to adjust the temperature settings in the clothes the commands are the following: to make the outfit better suited for high temperatures think "Cool Mode", to fight off the cold think, "Heat Mode", and to have return to the usual, "Neutral Mode."_

Well, that wasn't so bad, the instructions were clear, and at least this one seemed harmless. Naruto decided to try these functions as well, "Cool Mode." He felt the clothes shifting a bit and suddenly the clothes felt really fresh, as if his shirt was open, which was nice. He then decided to try the other one, "Heat Mode". This time the clothes felt a bit tighter, but also much warmer, he stood there for a bit and started sweating, deciding that it was enough he finished his testing of the clothes, _"Neutral Mode."_

Naruto thought his clothes absolutely rocked. He glanced at the scroll one more time in order to see if it wrote anything new, and indeed, there was another thing being written.

_This is it for the tutorials of these set of clothes, there is one last warning, don't stop wearing the outfit for more than three days, or this process will have to be repeated once again, since the clothes will forget the chakra signature in them. Thanks you for your acquisition, and make good use of the clothes and have a successful shinobi life. _

After that the scroll went blank and no more words appeared on the surface. Naruto put away the scroll and decided to finish his meal, after all, he still had to go and check out the training field, there was something that had called his attention about the clone technique, and he wanted to see if his assumptions were correct. With that, Naruto grabbed all his necessary equipment, he filled his new clothes with shuriken and kunai, he also grabbed one of the individual scrolls he had made about the jutsus he had borrowed from the scroll of sealing, he had been thinking, and if he was discovered to have copied some of them, they might come at him, and take away the scroll he had, so he decided to put a different jutsu in individual scrolls, that way, he might get to keep a couple of them, even if the others were taken. Having everything he thought necessary, he locked the door to his apartment and did the next most logical thing, he headed out through the window.

****

Naruto headed straight to the training grounds, if it was going to be a test, he had to be aware of everything that was at his disposition, he couldn't fail, not after achieving everything he had achieved so far, some stupid test wasn't going to slow him down. Finding the training spot was not difficult at all, since the training grounds were numbered, and thus he made his way to the desired spot quickly. Upon arriving at the field, he decided to observe it carefully, it seemed like a good spot, it even was next to a stream from what he could tell, it seemed nice. The main reason to be here Naruto was to know the surroundings a bit better.

Naruto suddenly remembered something else, something that had piqued his attention while he fought Mizuki. After executing the clone technique, he remembered looking at Mizuki from many different angles, which didn't seem like much back then, but now thinking with a cooler head, how was that possible? Naruto thought about it for a while, and realized that the reason was that Mizuki was surrounded by clones, and after they were dispelled, he got their memories or something like that. He really wanted to try it out, so he decided to make a little experiment, because after all, if his suspicions were correct he was going to have a tremendous boost.

The blond genin created a kage bunshin and looked at him intensely before giving him the instructions, "OK, listen carefully, I'm going to give you this explosive note, I want you to attach it to one of those boulders over there, and after activating it I want you to count exactly how many smaller fragments remained, and lastly, take one of the pieces hide it somewhere. Once you've done all that, fall of a tree so that you can be dispelled." Naruto looked at the clone and noticed that it didn't seem too pleased about the last part, be ended up yielding.

The clone made its way to the boulders, and Naruto decided to sit down facing the other way in order to preserve the integrity of the experiment as much as he could. Naruto waited patiently, and then he heard the explosion, which meant part one of the experiments was done. He was growing anxious; he really wanted to know if his hypothesis had been correct. He waited for a couple of seconds more, which seemed like hours to him, and it happened.

He heard the thud from his clone hitting the ground and his head was struck with images. He saw everything the clone had seen, he saw an image of himself walking toward the rocks(although technically speaking it hadn't been him, but his clone), he saw how he put the explosive tag on the surface of the biggest boulder, and then how he activated it and jumped away. After that he saw the boulder explode into many smaller pieces. He saw that the boulder's remains consisted of 5 medium sized fragments, and 24 smaller fragments, at least the one that still remained. Then he saw the memory of his alter ego picking up the biggest remaining chunk of the boulder, and heading toward the closest tree, and setting it behind it. Lastly he saw how the clone climbed onto the tree and fell off.

Naruto had a maelstrom of ideas whirling around in his head. He started to see endless possibilities to this new found power. He knew that this might not be effective for physical training, but it seemed very suited for other sorts of training. He could focus the efforts of his clones with theory studies, while he did other activities. And he saw something that will benefit him greatly; the clones could be used for scouting as well! He no longer needed to go investigate something himself, all he had to do was send a clone and then receive the information from it after it got dispelled. But now a new interrogative came into mind, how was he going to dispel his clones without making such a ruckus, I mean, there must be an easier way to dispel them than making them fall off a tree.

Naruto having a new objective decided to create a new shadow clone, then he gazed at him intently, now that he stopped to think about it, it was pretty cool, since he was able to look at himself from another perspective, "So this is how other people see me." Naruto noticed that the clone was exactly the same in every way, it even had the knife strapped to its leg as well, no wonder the jutsu required so much chakra. He looked at the clone, and decided to try to make the fastest approach.

Looking at the clone he said, "Dispel". And to his surprise the clone actually popped off in smoke. Now it was getting interesting, he wanted to find out all he could about the jutsu. Creating yet another clone, he decided to try something else. He decided to see if the clone could be dispelled from a remote location by command. Naruto commanded the clone to cross the stream and then dispel itself once it was in the other side. The clone did as instructed and set off toward the stream. Naruto watched as his doppelganger swam across the stream and once in the other side it exploded into oblivion.

"All right!" Naruto was very happy. This made the jutsu a lot more useful, and he now knew that he could order his clones, and they would follow his instructions, now it was just a matter of time until he could perform coordinated attacks by himself. Since he know knew the scouting benefits of his clones, he decided to try and apply in another way, to try and see if his clones could help him to learn as well.

Naruto took out the scroll he had brought with him, and then he decided to create a pair of clones, he gave the scroll to the clones and said firmly, "Read it very carefully, up to the very last detail, once you have read it three times, attempt the jutsu." Naruto left his clones reading the scroll and decided to do one last thing with his clones, he noticed that he was really tired, well, he had used tons of chakra that day, it was amazing that he was still going. Naruto decided to summon a pack of clones, and yelled out, "_**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_". Thus, around 200 clones appeared in the clearing, but Naruto fell against a tree, apparently his chakra was running real low by then, so he decided to make it fast, "All right everyone, I want you all to scout this training field from head to toe, check every single inch from this spot, the stream, everything. Divide into groups of twenty, and each set off to a different spot, do it properly, because I want to know this training field as the back of my hand by tomorrow." Naruto saw how his clones grouped into squads of twenty and each set off in a different direction.

Naruto sat against a tree, he was nodding off, well he was tired, but he needed to stay alert, after all, he was still waiting for the scouting info to come to him, and even more, he was still waiting for his clones with the scroll, he was really intrigued, he started to think as to why nobody seemed to know much about the clones, they seemed super useful. Naruto sat pondering about that and more when, suddenly a rush of info hit him. And yes, hit was the right verb to use, the rush of memories from one squad came to him, and it was so much information that his head hurt, and the worse had yet to come, information and memories from the other squads started to come in as well, and his head felt like it was about to burst from the overflow of data. The info kept coming for the next couple of minutes, Naruto was about to pass out several times but just when he was about to reach his limit, the flow was cut off, just to resume afterwards. After the longest pause, he believed that the information finally stopped. He now knew why this method was not as popular as he thought it should be, the punishment to the brain was great, it was now obvious that he should apply this method in smaller quantities, as to not have his brain melt.

After the painful episode, he decided to skim through the data, and see how effective the clones were for scouting. The results were just amazing; he now had an incredibly clear picture of the training grounds, and at night, which was even better. "If I can make my way around here at night perfectly, in the daytime it would twice as easy." He now was aware of the depth of the stream, which parts had a stronger current, and which were deeper than others. He knew of the smaller clearing around the training field. Also, there was some sort of memorial at the edge of the grounds, but it really wasn't clear, all he knew was that it had names inscribed on its surface. Naruto had an advantage now, or at least he would have no problem moving around, the test would probably involve physical strain, otherwise it would have been at close quarters.

Naruto decided that he was really tired, so he decided to check on the pair of clones he had left with the scrolls, and then call it a night. Walking toward the clones, he started to see the silhouettes of the two facing some trees, and then he knew what was going to happen, they had grasped the theory, after reading incessantly, and memorizing the hand signs needed, they were ready to attempt it, and then he saw the moment he had been waiting for. Both of his clones succeeded, and Naruto could only smirk in satisfaction. Naruto saw how the clones, having completed their objective ceased to exist by exploding, then the memories came to him, and this time without the pain from his previous experience. "This is perfect, I have something else in my arsenal now, the only thing left, is to try it myself, but right now I don't think I have enough chakra to attempt it, I guess I'll try it out tomorrow." With that, Naruto headed home ready to get some well deserved rest.

As the blond genin made his way to his home in the dark night, a figure came out of the shadow of a tree. A ninja stood there looking at the blond prospect, a grin adorning the face covered by the darkness.

"So this is Uzumaki Naruto, who would have thought that you had so many things up your sleeve, it seems just like everything in the shinobi world, you are not what you seem to be, you might be worth teaching after all, well, if you pass tomorrow's test." With that the shadowy figure disappeared into the night.

Naruto slept in his bed, oblivious to the attention he stared to gather, unaware of the hurricane of changes that were about to happen in his life. His destiny was to be decided in the exam awaiting him.

****

**Well, that's it for chapter two, I hope you guys enjoyed reading it, and again thanks for your time and attention. I already have a couple of prospects for Naruto's sensei, but I would like to hear your opinion as well. Please review and I hope to have the next chapter out soon. **

**Aztek Lord **


End file.
